EPA Reaches Organic Arsenicals Agreement

The Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement in principle with the major manufacturers of the organic arsenicals MSMA, DSMA, CAMA and cacodylic acid and its sodium salt. This voluntary agreement steadily removes all organic arsenical pesticide uses, except the use of MSMA on cotton, from the market and implements new restrictions to better protect drinking water resources. Phasing out these uses is expected to accelerate the transition to new, lower-risk herbicides.

Under the agreement, many uses, including use on residential lawns, will be canceled by the end of this year. For products used on cotton and products phased out after 2009, new use restrictions and mitigation measures will be added to increase protections to water resources.

Highlights of the agreement include:

• By mid-March, the registrants must submit voluntary cancellation requests for all uses, other than the use of MSMA on cotton.
• By the end of 2009, many existing uses will be phased out and canceled including use on residential lawns, forestry and non-bearing fruit and nut trees, and citrus orchards.
• Throughout the next four years, uses on golf courses, sod farm, and highway rights of way will be phased out, promoting transition to alternatives.

In the Agency's 2006 Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED), EPA concluded that all uses of the organic arsenicals were ineligible for reregistration. Following application, these pesticides convert over time to a more toxic form in soil, inorganic arsenic, and potentially contaminate drinking water through soil runoff. At that time, EPA believed that inorganic arsenic also could enter the human food supply through the meat and milk of animals fed cotton by-products treated with MSMA. In completing the RED, EPA determined that the aggregate dietary risks from food and drinking water combined did not meet the food safety standard.

EPA will amend the 2006 Organic Arsenicals RED to reflect the provisions of the agreement. Public comment opportunities will be provided when the Agency publishes Federal Register notices announcing its receipt of registrants' requests for voluntarily cancellation of uses.